Angry men are glass
When they shatter
Their shards slice:
they destroy what matters.
They cut up lives,
lose the love they amassed.
Poem- Cold Comfort pantoum August 24, 2022
COLD COMFORT
(by Shawn Bird and the 2021 En 11-A class)
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Something burns on a winter night
I smell the smoke and see the fire
Reflections on the snow are bright
The dreams to which I aspire
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I smell the smoke and see the fire
What hopes linger in the dark
The dreams to which I aspire
Rise to the sky in flickering sparks
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What hopes linger in the dark
Cradling cocoa in my hands
Rise to the sky in flickering sparks
My heart longs to dance
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Cradling cocoa in my hands
Warm steam tickling my nose
My heart longs to dance
And waken my frost-bitten toes
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Warm steam tickling my nose
The family encircles the flames
And waken my frost-bitten toes
Relaxing after winter games
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The family encircles the flames
Reflections on the snow are bright
Relaxing after winter games
Something burns on a winter night
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A pantoum is written in quatrain stanzas with lines 2 and 4 of each stanza repeating as lines 1 and 3 of the subsequent stanza until the last stanza, which circles back to the beginning, with line 2 being line 3 of the first stanza and line 4 being the first line of the poem. There are no rhythm rules so line lengths can vary. It is amazing how impactful this repetition proves to be.
If you try it, do post a link to your pantoum in the comment section!
Poem- A potato fork poem August 23, 2022
A POTATO FORK POEM
(for Brenda)
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Fellow forks, beware!
Do stay away from here!
Brenda takes us
then she breaks us.
Oh tremble! Feel fear!
Come only if you dare!
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Digging rocks and boulders
(Putting bodies in the ground?)
Brenda will abuse you
Aggressively use you
Your handle’s snapping sound
Means you won’t get older.
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Forks, do NOT come near!
Get the fork out of here!
Karmic dino court November 19, 2021
In an alternate Earth
injustices do not exist.
The universe feeds liars
to tyrannosauri rex,
which devour slowly
or quickly as befits.
poem-overturning June 11, 2021
This time it is
exactly what I want to see.
This time it is
My priorities, not his.
Whatever I want life to be,
my choices and philosophy,
This time it is.
Another rondelet. The speaker of this poem has a bit of a declaration here! 🙂 I have met quite a few women over the years who’ve fought to overturn programming and embrace their independence.
poem-i don’t want to write a poem January 13, 2021
Another demo pantoum poem written with my Creative Writing students today. This one demonstrates the power of this form, as small shifts can alter or intensify meaning. The kids weren’t in the mood to write at the beginning, but by the second stanza they were laughing and engaged as we looked for rhymes that worked.
I don’t want to write a poem today
I’m too tired to use my brain
The thought fills me with dismay
Poems make me insane
I’m too tired to use my brain
My mind is feeling foggy
Poems make me insane
My eyes are getting soggy
My mind is feeling foggy
Can I just return to bed?
My eyes are getting soggy
My heart is filled with dread
I’ll just return to bed
I’m much too tired to think
My heart is filled with dread
My life is on the brink
I’m much too tired to think
If my feelings are uncaged
My life is on the brink
The words won’t fill the page
When my feelings are uncaged
all the thoughts bring me dismay
Words will over-fill the page
I can’t write a poem today
poem- insurrection day January 6, 2021
Today my class is learning about the PANTOUM poetry form, while in the US, protesters have broken into congress amid riots, so here’s our demo pantoum.
Throw me a line
What’s going on?
I need a sign
Sanity’s gone
What’s going on?
There’s all this shouting
Sanity’s gone
The laws they’re flouting
There’s all this shouting
Is there any hope?
The laws they’re flouting
This filth needs some soap
Is there any hope?
My heart is afraid
This filth needs some soap
A nation’s betrayed
My heart is afraid.
Will the people declare
Their nation’s betrayed?
Does anyone care?
Will the people declare
this is the sign?
Will anyone care
to throw us a line?
poem- winter evening October 26, 2020
A pantoum for a winter evening
Soft snow falling
Mysteries in hidden faces
Lost memories calling
Eyes whisper with brief gazes
Mysteries, hidden faces
Warm glances, tender touches
Eyes whisper with brief gazes
Sweet comfort, hesitant rushes
Warm glances, tender touches
Fire crackles, hearth heat
Sweet comfort, hesitant rushes
In the silence, our hearts beat
Fire crackles, hearth heat
Lost memories calling
In the silence, our hearts beat
Soft snow falling.
poem- walking in the sexy boots October 21, 2020
The morning skies were grey
but they saw the sashay
and knew it wasn’t a day
to stay that way, you
might construe something at play,
but my boots made the sky turn blue!
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FWIW- I was wearing my purple velvet, sparky embossed leather and black patent leather Fluevog Atria boots today. No such thing as ‘too much.’ 😉
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(Ignore any ads added by WordPress. They’re not endorsed by me, unless, of course, you see a Fluevog ad! In which case, very much endorsed. 🙂 )
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poem- fingers back October 19, 2020
Once again
the adage’s proven true,
when you point at someone,
three fingers point back to you.
What you’re calling out
is probably your issue, too;
the louder you shout,
the clearer the cue!
Shawn L. Bird 